A common problem in the sport of amateur wrestling is damage to the ears often called "cauliflower ears". To prevent this problem a variety of protective head gear have been designed. This head gear is intended to protect the ears from damage during matches but still must allow the amateur wrestler to hear. The wearer must be able to hear instructions from the referee of the match but also should be able to hear coaching instructions to be effective during the match. Anything that impairs hearing can make it difficult to anticipate moves or wrestling tactics.
Presently protective hear gear is in the form of cups or plates fastened around the head with straps joining the cups that are secured by a chin strap. A protective wrestling helmet of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,288 issued Aug. 3, 1971. The cups shown in this patent are triangular shaped ear guards made out of a rigid plastic material with a soft lining to prevent abrasion of the ears. This head gear while providing some protection is not entirely satisfactory because of the hard plastic covering and the difficulty in donning the head gear. The plastic cups only protect the area around the ear and can easily slip during head holds or other maneuvers.
Another similar head gear protective device has a four strap design for the triangular ear guards. This head gear is in the form of metal cups covered with a soft foam plastic. A problem with this head gear is that after a period of use the protective foam covering deteriorates and has split allowing the hard metal cup to contact the ear of the user.
This head gear also does not permit the user to have long hair. New hair dress rules for amateur wrestlers will only allow long hair if worn in a hair net where it is kept out of the way. Present protective head gear for wrestlers is inadequate to keep long hair out of the way and is particularly unsuitable for women wrestlers. Therefore amateur wrestlers have been using the hard cup protective gear with additional gear like swim caps or hair nets to keep long hair out of the way. However the head gear is uncomfortable when worn this way and doesn't stay on.
It is one object of the present invention to provide protective head gear for amateur wrestlers that provides excellent protection for a wrestlers ears.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide protective head gear for amateur wrestlers that is light and durable.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide protective head gear for amateur wrestlers that is easy to put on and take off.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide protective head gear for amateur wrestlers that covers the entire skull allowing a wearer to completely cover hair and meet new hair dress rules.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide protective head gear for amateur wrestlers that includes a protective foam pad to protect against head butts.